Under the Covers: Ben L’Oncle Soul x The White Stripes
Ben L'Oncle Soul re-imagines a White Stripes classic.
Welcome to Under the Covers, your weekly dose of genre-bending with your favorite WBRU artists & songs! From the genuinely good to the seriously strange, we’ve got you covered. This week, Ben L’Oncle Soul announces himself to the world by re-imagining a White Stripes classic.
In a musical display of bravery for the ages, French soul singer Ben L’Oncle Soul opened his 2010 self-titled debut album by placing his own spin on one of the most iconic songs of the twenty-first century: “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes. By adding layers of masterfully arranged jazz and funk elements to The White Stripes’ characteristically spare original, Ben L’Oncle transforms this stripped-down ode to disgruntled aggression into an upbeat, danceable soul-pop anthem. The transition is made possible by Ben’s virtuosic vocal talents, which allow him to re-imagine Jack White’s snarling, defiant lyrics and deliver them with disarming smoothness. In pairing White’s iconic guitar line with brass and electric keys, Ben L’Oncle Soul infuses one of the most recognizable melodies of the last twenty years with a groove that’s sure to make even the most jaded White Stripes fan tap their foot and bob their head.